Jun 3, 2008
Snelling back in ML action
Phillies.com is reporting that Chris Snelling has been activated from the disabled list. The Phillies are facing a series against the Reds, who have a rotation crowded with right handed pitchers. They have added Snelling to the action to provide some left handed pop from the bench. Snelling has had one hit this season in the majors, a solo home run against the Astros.
Phil Stockman back to AAA
Well, as predicted yesterday, Phil Stockman has been sent back to the Richmond Braves to make room for John Smoltz on the Atlanta roster. It was a short stay in the bigs for Phil, but I reckon we will see more of him later in the year. Hopefully he can keep his good numbers going at Richmond.
It was a shaky return for Smoltz, who blew a save opportunity. He was saved by a tenth inning homer from Yunel Escobar, which avoided the loss.
It was a shaky return for Smoltz, who blew a save opportunity. He was saved by a tenth inning homer from Yunel Escobar, which avoided the loss.
Join Padres forum discussion about Justin Huber
There are some pretty vigorous debates going on at the SignOnSanDiego forums, particularly regarding whether the current bench players, including Justin Huber and Paul McAnulty, should be dropped. Forming the backdrop to the debate is the impending interleague play that begins on 13 June, and the fact that the Pads will be needing a DH. If you can handle the bad Aussie jokes, and some apparent dislike for Huber, you can read more, and even contribute here.
Balfour talks about his promotion
Herald-Tribune.com has a podcast/webstream available of what sounds like a press conference at which Grant Balfour talks about his call up. You can check it out here.
Grant Balfour pitches in yesterday's game against the White Sox. He picked up his first MLB save. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)Jun 2, 2008
Phil Stockman's future in the bigs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting that John Smoltz pitched a scoreless inning in a rehab start over the weekend. They reckon that Smoltz could be back in the major league lineup by tomorrow. This would mean someone would have to move to make way for Smoltz. The frontrunners for cutting (according to talkingchop.com) are Phil Stockman and Buddy Carlyle. Stockman hasnt had all that many opportunities in his short time in the bigs this year, and Bobby Cox has a bit of a reputation for making things a bit tough for rookies, so Stockman could be headed back to AAA.
Stay tuned for more news as it happens
Stay tuned for more news as it happens
Snelling begins comeback
It is a bit of a comedown for Chris Snelling, who went from playing with the Phillies major league squad, allllllll the way back down to Class A Advanced, for a rehab assignment with the Clearwater Threshers. Delaware Online is reporting that Snelling got two hits on Sunday (Sat in the US) in his third game back from his knee injury.
2 hits in his third game back reads pretty good I suppose. But, he has now played 4 games, and has only 4 hits, averaging .143. He has drawn a few walks though, but has struck out twice as well. Either way, it seems unlikely that he would secure much of a role in the Phillies major league squad anyway, as the injured Phillies whose time on the DL led to his call-up have all rejoined the squad. So really, it seems more a matter of what level within the Phillies organisation Snelling will end up at.
2 hits in his third game back reads pretty good I suppose. But, he has now played 4 games, and has only 4 hits, averaging .143. He has drawn a few walks though, but has struck out twice as well. Either way, it seems unlikely that he would secure much of a role in the Phillies major league squad anyway, as the injured Phillies whose time on the DL led to his call-up have all rejoined the squad. So really, it seems more a matter of what level within the Phillies organisation Snelling will end up at.
Aussie Updates (31 May to 2 June)
We had two Aussies in action over the last few days, and they both made a impact, which is great to see.
Grant Balfour
...has now made two appearances with the Tampa Bay Rays, and has shown some real versatility. On Sunday (Sat in the US), Balfour made his first MLB appearance for the year, and picked up the save in the Rays' 2-0 win over the White Sox. He came into the game with 2 on and 2 out in the bottom of the ninth. He faced White Sox centrefielder Brian Anderson. He started him off with an 88mph slider for a ball and then hammered in a 96mph fastball to draw a fly out to shallow centrefield and pick up the save.
Today, Balfour showed his versatility, operating in relief when Rays Starter Andy Sonnanstine struggled. Balfour came in with 2 out and a runner on second in the 6th inning. He pitched 1.1 innings, giving up a double to Jim Thome, and striking out three. 16 of his 22 pitches were strikes, which ought to have pleased Rays' manager Joe Maddon.
Justin Huber
...finally got in a bit of a rhythm, making two appearances in two days!!! UNBELIEVABLE i know. After recovering from his back spasms from earlier in the week, Huber played an important role in the Padres' 13 inning win over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday (Fri in the US). Huber pinch hit for new Padres pitcher Cha Seung Baek (who was previously working alongside Ryan Rowland-Smith in the Mariners pen), in the top of the 13th inning. With loaded bases, and 2 out, Huber worked a full count before smacking a single to centrefield, scoring 2 runs. The Padres had already scored two runs earlier that inning, to take a 5-3 lead, but Huber's single resulted in quite an insurmountable lead. You can check it out on MLB Gameday. Its worth checking out, as the footage shows some good shots of Huber's swing. He even gets a wrap for his quality at bat from the commentators! Good stuff
Huber also played yesterday, getting the start and playing the whole game!!! Huber played in left and hit in the 7 hole. He - like the rest of the Padres - was off to a flyer, hitting a double in the first inning to drive in a run. Again, you can check it out on MLB Gameday, and you will find it was a monster of a hit to left centre. Huber ended up going 1-for-3, with a hit by pitch. This lifted his average back over .200 to .209.
Compared to other Padres players, Huber seems to be making the most of his opportunities. Im sure it is not any sort of official stat, and any stat geeks out there would probably crucify me, but looking at the number of RBIs per at bat, Huber has 6 RBIs from 43 at bats, which works out at an average of 0.14 RBI per at bat. Compared to some of his competitors, he fares pretty well. Paul McAnulty has 7 RBI from 88 ABs, for 0.08 RBI per at bat, and Jody Gerut has 6 from 83 for 0.07. Even starting leftfielder Scott Hairston only has 15 RBIs, from 171 ABs (0.09 RBI per at bat). These figures are probably more a reflection of the Padres overall hitting woes, rather than individual performances, but i think it shows that Huber is putting in when it counts.
Grant Balfour
...has now made two appearances with the Tampa Bay Rays, and has shown some real versatility. On Sunday (Sat in the US), Balfour made his first MLB appearance for the year, and picked up the save in the Rays' 2-0 win over the White Sox. He came into the game with 2 on and 2 out in the bottom of the ninth. He faced White Sox centrefielder Brian Anderson. He started him off with an 88mph slider for a ball and then hammered in a 96mph fastball to draw a fly out to shallow centrefield and pick up the save.
Today, Balfour showed his versatility, operating in relief when Rays Starter Andy Sonnanstine struggled. Balfour came in with 2 out and a runner on second in the 6th inning. He pitched 1.1 innings, giving up a double to Jim Thome, and striking out three. 16 of his 22 pitches were strikes, which ought to have pleased Rays' manager Joe Maddon.
Justin Huber
...finally got in a bit of a rhythm, making two appearances in two days!!! UNBELIEVABLE i know. After recovering from his back spasms from earlier in the week, Huber played an important role in the Padres' 13 inning win over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday (Fri in the US). Huber pinch hit for new Padres pitcher Cha Seung Baek (who was previously working alongside Ryan Rowland-Smith in the Mariners pen), in the top of the 13th inning. With loaded bases, and 2 out, Huber worked a full count before smacking a single to centrefield, scoring 2 runs. The Padres had already scored two runs earlier that inning, to take a 5-3 lead, but Huber's single resulted in quite an insurmountable lead. You can check it out on MLB Gameday. Its worth checking out, as the footage shows some good shots of Huber's swing. He even gets a wrap for his quality at bat from the commentators! Good stuff
Huber also played yesterday, getting the start and playing the whole game!!! Huber played in left and hit in the 7 hole. He - like the rest of the Padres - was off to a flyer, hitting a double in the first inning to drive in a run. Again, you can check it out on MLB Gameday, and you will find it was a monster of a hit to left centre. Huber ended up going 1-for-3, with a hit by pitch. This lifted his average back over .200 to .209.
Compared to other Padres players, Huber seems to be making the most of his opportunities. Im sure it is not any sort of official stat, and any stat geeks out there would probably crucify me, but looking at the number of RBIs per at bat, Huber has 6 RBIs from 43 at bats, which works out at an average of 0.14 RBI per at bat. Compared to some of his competitors, he fares pretty well. Paul McAnulty has 7 RBI from 88 ABs, for 0.08 RBI per at bat, and Jody Gerut has 6 from 83 for 0.07. Even starting leftfielder Scott Hairston only has 15 RBIs, from 171 ABs (0.09 RBI per at bat). These figures are probably more a reflection of the Padres overall hitting woes, rather than individual performances, but i think it shows that Huber is putting in when it counts.
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